By Richard Louden, Head of Technology (Data) at Nimble Approach
This blog explores two of the most common ways organisations have tried to develop their data capability, why these methods often fall short of expectations, and introduces an alternative approach focused on delivering vertical slices of capability through lighthouse projects.
Data is a key enabler for organisations, offering insights that drive growth and efficiency, supporting key products, or even becoming a monetisable product in its own right. However, getting to this position is difficult for many organisations, leading to growing internal pressure to improve and realise these benefits.
This pressure typically gives rise to one of two approaches to drive change, depending on whether the initiative is led by IT or by other parts of the organisation. In both cases, a disconnect often emerges between the facilitator and the end user, which ultimately undermines the effectiveness of the approach.
The Data Programme
Though less common now, there was a time when cost pressures pushed most organisations to build and manage their own data programmes.These initiatives were typically owned by IT teams and, as a result, were approached in a risk-averse manner, with an emphasis on understanding and planning every facet needed to meet the organisation’s data requirements.
This process involved extensive assessment and planning, often done in isolation, with limited engagement beyond surveying end users to capture use cases and define required solutions. The need to design and build the whole picture before delivering for the end user also took time, with programmes spanning multiple years.
The result was often that by the time IT was ready to fully engage with the wider organisation, it had already moved on – circumventing IT by procuring its own applications to meet immediate needs. As a result, significant time and resources were invested in an approach that lacked organisational buy-in and ultimately failed to deliver the expected value.
The Proof of Concept Carousel
In contrast to the expansive, organised programme, the second scenario worth highlighting comes when IT are not in control and are often seen as ‘providers of technology’ by the rest of the organisation. In this situation, the organisation has determined its need and has commissioned IT to provide the capability – either through integrating a new application or building a bespoke process.
Whilst this may look like a successful approach on the surface, a combination of poor working relationships, organisational pressure, and lack of an overarching plan undermine its success. IT is now pushed to deliver multiple data projects that overlap in their data requirements, transformation processes, and outputs, yet are executed in isolation due to the lack of higher level planning. Enough work is done to get each concept off the ground – at which point, it is passed to the organisation for feedback – but with little-to-no time to move on to the next phase due to the pressure from other organisational areas.
This results in a range of semi-complete applications and processes that add further complexity to the technical landscape and support needs, while failing to deliver the full benefits the organisation expected.
Given that neither of these two scenarios result in a favourable outcome for the organisation, a better approach is required to unlock the true value of data. One promising strategy combines two delivery methods – the use of lighthouse projects and vertical slicing / delivery – both of which have been used in the software delivery space to great effect.
The Potential of Lighthouse Projects and Vertical Slicing
Lighthouse projects – a term which is used across multiple areas such as manufacturing, digital transformation, and tech – are exactly what the name suggests: visible, high-impact and focused initiatives. They often look to provide a benefit that will be recognised at the senior level, without requiring an extensive amount of change.
By working at a smaller scale, organisations can be fast and agile through delivery, increasing the chance of success. In practice, they often involve building up capability across multiple areas, which is why they can work well with a vertical slicing / delivery approach.
Vertical slicing is an approach borrowed from agile software development, placing a focus on delivering a thin slice across multiple areas to provide functionality, rather than focussing on a single element at the expense of others. These two delivery methods combined can be highly effective, with the lighthouse element providing the visibility and buy-in needed to continue the transformation, and the vertical delivery element giving a better chance of lasting improvement.
How It Works in Practice
To provide an example of how this could work in the data space, consider an organisation that’s looking to unlock value by better targeting its customers, which requires it to develop a golden customer record. While this could be tackled as part of a large-scale programme involving data governance, master data management, and data architecture, such an approach would take significant time to deliver value. Instead, the initial objective could be scaled back – for instance, achieving an XX% matched set of customer records – to serve as a lighthouse project.
Using the vertical delivery approach, you would then consider up front what improvements are required across the key foundational data elements, i.e Strategy, Technology, People, Process, Governance, and Data. Delivering the lighthouse project wouldn’t target all of these areas at once, but would provide improvements to some; with the ability to then continue once the initial value has been shown and the organisation is happy to fund further work.
Clearly, there are positives to this approach when compared to the scenarios in the first section, but there are also blockers to adopting it. This is mainly down to changing mindsets and ways of working – a process that takes time – and the risk of pivoting to a new delivery method, which can discourage some organisations.
How To Adopt This Approach to Realise Value
There are two key requirements to adopting this approach:
- An understanding of your current capability, to determine key improvement areas.
- Buy-in from the organisation, to facilitate collaboration between IT and the other parts of the organisation.
Once these steps have been achieved, you can begin identifying suitable use cases for lighthouse projects, taking care not to choose overly ambitious initiatives; delivering tangible value is more important than tackling a project that is too large. Once the initial set of projects have been prioritised and roadmapped, internal governance can be established for the delivery process. This is key to maintaining good working practices, ensuring effective communication out to the rest of the organisation whilst making sure the end result has a broad impact.
As the work gets underway, maintain frequent communication with the organisation and be as transparent as possible. If timelines slip due to unforeseen circumstances, it is better that people are made aware rather than left feeling ignored.
This regular communication also fits with the iterative development approach that should be taken to build out capability, ensuring end-users are involved as much as possible. Once the initial phase is completed, determine the future value of the work and communicate this with the organisation, including what the next steps are and the further benefits this will bring.
Now you’ve been through an initial loop of the process, it is important to understand where things went well and where improvements could be made.These changes should then be incorporated for the next lighthouse project, as part of a continuous learning and improvement loop. This will increase the efficiency of future delivery cycles, reducing the associated cost and further improving the return on investment.
Key Takeaways
Organisations often fall into one of two scenarios when trying to enhance their data capability, neither of which typically lead to long-term value. Combining a “lighthouse project” to show early impact with a “vertical slicing” approach to build lasting capability creates a more sustainable path forward. Whilst this requires intentional changes in delivery practices and organisational mindset, the pay off is faster time to value, stronger buy-in, and improved capability development to support long-term needs.
Where Nimble Can Support You
Adopting this approach can unlock both short- and long-term value, and as an agile-first digital consultancy, Nimble Approach brings extensive experience in supporting organisations at every stage of the process – helping reduce time to value and embed the changes needed for long-term, sustainable success.
This includes both large-scale transformation projects, such as supporting The Pools with their technical migration and digital transformation, and stand-alone initiatives, like ASDA, where we led the development of new data products by maturing multiple capability areas.
By combining expertise in product, delivery, technology, and data, we aim to help organisations navigate these challenges and realise sustainable, long-term value.
